Top 11 Games I Would Take On An Island

Imagine, if you can, that you are stuck on an island. There is unlimited food, water and power, and every game console and handheld ever made just hanging out. While there is no internet, you are allowed any existing DLC, and any peripherals needed to play your game. What titles do you bring for your extended stay? What games would you be stuck with for the rest of your life? Here are my Top 11.

(Ten just didn't seem fair, and these are in no particular order.)

1. Halo: Reach: I'm a huge fan of Halo's multiplayer, so it's a real shame there's no internet on the island, but Reach offers plenty of ways to entertain without it. As much as I love a good Rumble Pit, I spend at least as much time wasting Covenant in Firefight. I'm a huge fan of the intricate scoring system Firefight offers, and the myriad options and customizable parameters ensure that I can always find some variety. The campaign is solid enough, and there enough skulls and hidden data pads, not to mention the daunting Legendary Iron On playthrough, to keep me interested in that for quite awhile. Maybe I can even learn how to play my right hand versus my left hand in a Swords-match. Wait...that just sounds wrong...

2. Trials HD: As great a game as Trials HD is anyway, it fits particularly well within the confines of this list. Completing the campaign and tournaments with no faults will take my years no doubt, and even then I can forever try to improve upon my times. A huge, and DLC-supported, minigames section offers a ton of fun, featuring everything from flinging your rider to break as many bones as possible to riding as far as possible with a loose front tire. Just in case I get tired of that, I can create my own levels with the (awesome) stage creation tools. Surely with that much free time I can finally climb that f**king hill.

3. Super Scribblenauts: Smelly knight wielding grenades mounted an amber unicorn, versus a horde of slow curious zombies wearing sombreros. These are the kinds of situations that make Super Scribblenauts such a blast for me. I feel like an engaged nine-year-old in awe again as I spend hours scanning my brain thinking of new and intriguing matchups to endanger Maxwell's life. And that's just the title screen. In the unlikely event I ever grow bored of messing with my crazy title screen shenanigans, there is a pretty fun campaign to go through. Sounds like a winner to me.

4. Madden '11: While it may not be my favorite Madden ever, I prefer it to '12 and I'd like to have a somewhat-current version of the game. If I had a buddy to play with I would go with NCAA, I'm a huge college sports fan, but since I'm stuck with single-player I'm gonna have to play some Franchise Mode. It is unceasingly entertaining to me to create fantasy franchise team that can actually make Miami proud. I've always considered myself a fairly hardcore sports fan., and I really like to dig into the nuts and bolts of franchise mode. And with all the time in the world, I can play every game and really perfect my team. And when, if ever, I get back to the mainland, I will be a Madden god.

5. Dynasty Warriors 6: This is obviously a very personal choice, but I have a vendetta against this game. I picked it up the day it came out, and from then on out me and my roommates put an approximate 6,123,987 man-hours into leveling every character to 50. With 39 characters, trust me, that is no small feat. I personally leveled six characters all the way, but before I could actually beat it, my hard drive blew. All DW 6 data was lost, as was all desire to ever look at that game again. But with unlimited time, I can finally get that achievement, which I'm convinced no one in America possibly has. Seriously, I have a cash reward for anybody with proof they have done it.

6. Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection: I have this strange feeling that, of all the games on my list, this is the one I would eventually grow tired of first. Not because it's a weaker game than the others, but because I would probably pop it in first and milk it for every last ounce of awesomeness before finally putting it aside. It's been awhile since I've played through MGS 2 & 3, and I've never played Peace Walker or the original Metal Gears. It's a real shame that the first MGS isn't on there, but I can foresee many an hour digging back into Kojima's masterpiece. Actually, now that I think about it, I think I'm going to save the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection for just this contingency.

7. Geometry Wars 2: If there is one game that I own that I find myself consistently returning to it is Geometry Wars 2. The first time I played Pacifism I was hooked, and beating the Sequence for the first time was a celebratory moment in my life. With all the time in the world, I can triumphantly march into the top echelons of GW players...assuming I can ever escape to show people my prodigious feats. If not I can content myself with beating Evolved mode...there has to be an ending right? Regardless, Geometry Wars always keeps me coming back for more, and the trip just wouldn't be the same without it.

8. Skyrim: I thought real long about whether or not Skyrim would make this list, almost replaced it with Castle Crashers, and then decided it totally deserves its spot. As much as I loved Skyrim, and it was seriously an unhealthy amount, I was equally frustrated with its many glitches, eventually bowing out due to a bug rendering the Thieves Guild quest line unfinishable. However, with the fact that I'm stuck on a freaking island and the vain hope that Bethesda has cleaned up some of these issues, I think my exile may be the perfect opportunity to actually make my Wood Elf Queen of Skyrim. I think with unlimited time I can figure it out.

9. Pinball FX 2: Myriad tables to play on (Marvel!), a robust scoring system and the best pinball physics outside of a real table? Who am I kidding? I was sold on this from the moment I heard about the Rocky and Bullwinkle table. Who wouldn't want the world's best pinball simulator with them on an island? This is a no-brainer. Enough said.

10. Arkham City: Arkham City is a game I know will eventually lose its allure for me, but I'm having too much fun with it to ignore its potential. I've only beat the main story, so on my theoretical vacation I still have New Game +, the absurd number of Riddler challenges and the Catwoman content to deal with. When I eventually beat all that, I've got the Riddler's Revenge challenge mode to keep me busy indefinitely, especially once I start attacking those rough Extreme challenges.

11. Rocksmith: Some might call this cheating on my part, but since I'm allowing peripherals, and you need a real guitar to play, that means I can technically, and within the rules, bring my '67 Strat with me, and play through Rocksmith's surprisingly adept amp system. With the available DLC the song selection is actually quite robust, so I'll really have an opportunity to perfect my technique. But the ability to jam nonstop is the ultimate draw for me, and Rocksmith lets me do that better than anything else.